Our gardens and growing spaces have never been more important as biodiversity declines. Listen to our fascinating conversation with wildlife gardening pioneer Chris Baines as he discusses the “wildlife revolution” in our gardens and the sea-change in attitudes towards incorporating nature-friendly habitats and techniques. “Gardens made a big, positive difference [to wildlife] once people started to see them as a place where they could enjoy and encourage wildlife, rather than a place that they needed to keep wildlife out,” says Chris, who suggests creating ‘service stations’ in your garden to influence bird and insect survival. “The past 60-70 years have been a disaster for wildlife. The one saving grace in the UK has been gardens. Gardens have got better for wildlife, while the wider countryside has got worse. There’s a real growing up of the idea that we can’t just stand back and watch everything disappear, we have to intervene.”

In this Cut Flower Special of The Organic Gardening Podcast, Sarah Brown chats with Jo Wright from Flowers from the Farm and Debbie Scott, from East Lothian Flower Farm, as they share their experience of growing cut flowers organically, offering valuable insights into the benefits of supporting local flower growers. “Growing organic flowers made complete sense as we think about what we do very carefully," says Jo. "Cut flowers are a luxury, and we think the onus is much greater on the growers of a luxury crop, to protect the environment. We cannot be wasting resources on something that is primarily decorative." Our CEO Fiona Taylor catches up with our Head of Horticulture, Chris Collins, and shares top tips for ensuring seedlings thrive and flourish. They also discuss getting the most out of your local garden centre, so you can make more informed choices.  “You do need to be wise about what you’re buying. It’s a question of walking around and seeing what’s native and getting the best out of your shop, getting your money’s worth and supporting biodiversity,” says Chris.

The first day of spring is here and we’re starting to sow the seeds of the gardening year. Chris Collins pays a visit to Richard Wilford at Kew Gardens where he talks about tackling pests and reducing digging. “Our tolerance of pests has changed,” says Richard. “You’ve just got to accept the fact you’re going getting some aphids sometimes, and not get your sprayer out every time you see one. Allow the garden ecosystem to do what it needs to do…and then you won’t need to worry about pest outbreaks because they’re naturally controlled.” He talks about his plans for a new Carbon Garden at Kew that will demonstrate which plants can cope with climate change and offset it, and what you can do in your own garden. “The soil is the most important thing in a garden…and the health of the plants is so much better when you’re not disturbing the soil. It acts as a great big carbon sink,” Richard adds. Chris also catches up with Garden Organic’s head gardener Emma O’Neill about what she’s doing in our organic demonstration garden this month. They discuss successional sowing - and how important a sowing timetable is for planning vegetables all year round, and share details of their favourite flowers. “Growing organically is not just about food production but also about incorporating ornamentals,” says Emma. “The more diversity you’ve got in your garden, the more beneficial stuff you’re going to get in including more pollinators.”

Spring is just around the corner and our Organic Gardening Podcast team are sharing their excitement at the gardening year ahead. Our head of horticulture Chris Collins chats to Fiona about his love of hardy annual flowers. He discusses how to prepare ahead and get the ground ready, and what to sow for a fabulous display in the summer. At his allotment, he’s making new plants from old by lifting and dividing herbaceous perennials. And Sarah Brown chats to Jack Wallington about his move from London to an exposed hillside smallholding in Yorkshire. The ecological grower, garden designer and author of A Greener Life, shares the challenges and joys of gardening in a new location. The focus of his new garden follows the same sustainable principles of his London garden and allotment, with nature at its heart. “We’re not here to control the garden, it’s the other way around – we’re here to help everything else thrive,” he says. “But you can do something really good for the world by producing a home for insects or growing your own food, so you reduce transport miles and packaging. Organic gardening is core to all of that – better for you and the planet.”

 “Everyone deserves a meal” is one of the mottos of organic gardener Sarah Mead as she tackles garden pests – and is the thread running through this month’s podcast. Fiona takes a tour of Sarah’s beautiful, Soil Association-certified organic garden at Yeo Valley dairy farm in Blagdon, and find out how she works alongside wildlife rather than trying to eradicate pests. “It’s critical to leave things alone so you don’t break the food chain because once you’ve done that you’ve lost the battle,” says Sarah, who uses sacrificial plants, companion planting and copper tape to help manage whitefly, slugs and other challenges in the six-and-a-half-acre garden. “Organic gardening is all about being hands off. It’s less work in the long run: less digging, less mowing, less spraying. It can be done on a large scale or a small one. Just start by apply one principle and keep going.”  To mark Veganuary, Fiona and Chris also discuss veganic gardening, and moving away from animal-based ingredients in the garden. They touch on the value of plant-based diets that encourage us to grow and eat more vegetables, which are great for our health and for biodiversity. And they also share their love of feeding the birds in winter - and look forward to Big Garden Birdwatch at the end of this month.